Beloved local umpire and Coca-Cola Park worker Richie Frey dies

http://blogs.mcall.com/groller/ FROM KEITH GROLLER Richie Frey, one of the most beloved figures in local baseball, died on Sunday morning. Frey was a longtime area umpire who had become a fixture at Coca-Cola Park over the last five years as the warehouse manager. Frey was originally diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus in August of 2011. He underwent surgery that October and was thought to have beaten the cancer, but it had returned and spread in recent months. This was a man who loved baseball and loved people. That’s why Coca-Cola Park was the perfect place for him. I remember Frey proudly showing me his workplace a few years ago and could tell he was as popular among fellow workers as Ryne Sandberg, Rich Thompson and Andy Tracy were with the fans. When he came back to work last spring, he was welcomed back with open arms. “I can't tell you how much I missed it,” Frey said. “Sometimes it takes something like what I went through to realize how much people mean to you and how much you really enjoy doing what you do.” People enjoyed being around Frey. “I don’t know anyone who didn’t smile or laugh when his name was brought up,” said Blue Mountain League Hall of Famer Tim Fisher, who worked with Frey at Coca-Cola Park. “He was always laughing and upbeat. “He was a great friend to so many and I am glad to be counted among them. He was loved by his family and all of us who were so lucky to have known him.”